Only 48 hours have passed since the Tunisia attack Abdesalam Lassoued shot and killed two Swedish football fans in Brussels on 16 October; until large groups were evacuated on October 18. Passengers arriving from ten French airports. And during that time he started traveling around Europe again. specter of jihad. But after half a month War tensions revived in the Middle EastAlthough the double murder was claimed by ISIS, no one has yet claimed that this outbreak implies a rebirth of that movement or Al Qaeda.
But still, a real terrorist threat from Islamic fundamentalism is filling the agendas of interior ministers and drawing public attention, including political debates, to police alert levels across Europe.
All counter-terrorism sources consulted claim that it is “still too early” to confirm the resurgence of the West’s former Islamist enemies. One of these sources, the leader of the National Police teams that carry out decisive attacks in the fight against terrorism in Spain, gives money more precisely. What causes war? Hamas and Israel among fundamentalists “a radical shake-up”.
tinder and sparks
Those consulted all agree on this: food for fans. It is the lone terrorists who represent the real threat in Europe, those who decide to attack without the hierarchy of an organization. Beyond…” I will make a prediction about evolution soon jihadist terrorist organizations,” the said source explains.
Since last October 7, the most radical followers of unreformed Islam have been in abundance. fresh propaganda to consume in your group chats and social networks. The barrage is divided into two main narratives: a narrative with a rhetorical and triumphal tone typical of the early days of the current conflict between Hamas and Israel; Here, Palestinian commandos are seen moving around with paragliders and rocket launchers while chanting in the background. . . Another is a call for grievance and revenge since the Israeli army began its attacks bombings More intense and lethal attacks on Gaza, with images of injured children and the bloody disgrace of the civilian population.
But this new propaganda sells the Palestinian cause, exposes the national suffering of a Muslim nation, and does not advocate a universal caliphate. “ISIS’s call to kill has no connection with the Palestinian sphere,” explains a veteran of the anti-jihadist struggle who has been on this front since before 11-M, “but if there is a self-radicalizer somewhere just one step away, there are already sparks to throw that will ignite it.” there is”.
And this suspicion nowadays also determines the work of police information services: “Monitoring Avoid possible actions of lone actors“Explains the Police commander, who thinks early warning and prevention are everything.”
Enjoy the benefits
With the war tension in the Middle East, the risk of old fanatics reactivating and new fanatics forming is so certain that the Minister of Internal Affairs, Fernando Grande-MarlaskaAt the end of a meeting with European counterparts in Luxembourg, he warned this Thursday about preventing radicalization as well as “taking action against those protected by misinformation”. fuel hate speech Such as antisemitism, Islamophobia and racism.
Attacks that may be happening in Europe right now “opportunistic coups”, talking about the veteran. These will not result from the revival of ISIS or al-Qaeda, which had a footprint in the Sahel after the Syrian war. “It is difficult to predict anything, because this type of terrorism is variable and unpredictable, and there are mixed interests that respond to the involvement of multiple actors,” explains the Civil Guard’s counterterrorism chief.
This expert takes it seriously Now “ISIS and Al Qaeda will try to take advantage of this.” They will do so because the Palestinian-Israeli conflict “has historically been one of the most used causes in their propaganda, and they aspire to take the reins of global jihadism.”
The fact that ISIS claimed responsibility for the double murder in Brussels is “very significant” for the armed institute command. “DAESH, the other name of ISIS, has not made an official claim about attacking European territory through the AMAQ institution since 2020.”
This is a clue. But so is improvisation. The way to instill terror in France. French authorities decided to evacuate the airports on the 18th because they received attack threats via email. And this is not the path taken by ISIS or Al Qaeda.
Enemies
All those interviewed emphasize the following: Hamas is not ISIS or Al Qaeda. This week, numerous Israeli propagandists and even some statements by the Israel Defense Forces spread the name of Hamas in connection with ISIS; They talked about “Hamas-Daesh” as if it were one thing. But Hamas’s terrorist attacks on Israeli kibbutzim on October 7 and the barrage of rockets from Gaza have nothing to do with the battle on Barcelona’s Rambla (2017) or two years ago to implement the universal caliphate. Bataclan hall in Paris. “Hamas does not fight for the Ummah” “The legendary community of followers of Muhammad – fighting only for themselves,” explains a Police analyst.
This is the difference between the Palestinian cause, which is a national cause, and the global fundamentalism of ISIS and al-Qaeda, an Islamic terrorism whose greatest victims, by the way, are among Muslims.
There are more differences: “ISIS is not involved in these matters.” Shiites. “They hate them much more than the Israelis and Westerners,” the Civil Guard officer explains. Iran has strategic intentions.
In August 2009, Al Qaeda tried to set foot in Gaza with its own branch. Ansar Cund Allah, “Warriors of God”but Hamas fought them until they did. Kill leader Abdulatif Musa. Six years later, Hamas was fighting with mortars against another insurgency in Khan Younis. Support of Islamic States in Jerusalem. The group ruling Gaza once again crushed its rival.
The following year, Hamas and Hezbollah joined forces to fight ISIS… not on the Strip or in Beirut, but in cyberspace. The defense-affiliated Spanish Institute for Strategic Studies analyzed the conflict. During this cyber war waged in front of millions of Muslim followers on social networks, “images and videos of victims, bodies and seized objectsIt was stated that the file also included tweets praising martyrs or threatening the enemy.
In that fight, an unusual event took place in the history of terrorism: On the night of Friday, November 13, 2015, 130 people were killed in the Bataclan hall and other locations. ISIS members take over Paris. Enemies from Hamas and Hezbollah contacted the French government on Saturday. They wanted to express their condolences to him.